It's true. I accidentally killed the Aquasaur last week. It was time to clean out the little "tank" for the first time, and the instructions explicitly say NOT to use tap water due to the chlorine content. Foolishly, I thought it would be okay if I let the water sit out uncovered for a day or so (letting the chlorine evaporate). In theory it would work, but in practice it did not. Either all of the chlorine did not evaporate, or there is something else in the water that killed him. I knew something was wrong when he started swimming around erratically, sometimes laying on his back on the bottom of the tank. It was pretty terrible. He died withing a few hours (although I kept hoping he would get better), and went to his porcelain grave the next day. The cheap ass tank that came with the Aquasaurs was pretty impossible to clean so I just pitched it. The reviews on Amazon aren't kidding when they say a Coke bottle is more sturdy. Karma dictates that I try again, and make sure to give the new batch of Aquasaurs the best life possible.
Friday, I went to Petsmart and bought a better plastic tank, a little fake plant, and stick on thermometer. I had some little blue marbles left over from a previous craft project, and decided to stick them in there too. Everything got rinsed off with spring water, and the eggs went in the tank. Yesterday they started hatching, and today I can see at least a dozen little things swimming around in there. It's too hard to tell how many are Aquasaurs vs. Fairy Shrimp at this stage, but it should be clear in a couple days.
It's hard to justify buying $10 worth of supplies for giant sea monkeys that only live 3 months, so I've decided that once the Aquasaur perishes (hopefully due to natural causes) we will get a feeder goldfish for the tank. Or maybe a few guppies.
The little pine trees are starting to grow too, or at least one is. Hopefully at least one more will sprout in the next few days. I'd like better odds, as apparently I have a tendency to kill things on my first try...
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